Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

TT (—) (): The government will not be supporting this amendment from the Greens either. By convention, the ombudsman already does not investigate action taken by ASIS, AGO, ASD, DIO or the Office of National Intelligence, although these agencies are currently within its legal jurisdiction. Recommendation 167 of the comprehensive review provided that ASIS, AGO, ASD, ONI and DIO should be excluded from the ombudsman's jurisdiction. These agencies are overseen by the Inspector General of Intelligence and Security, which is, of course, Australia's dedicated intelligence oversight body. This amendment will formalise the ombudsman's existing approach to these agencies while maintaining the strong oversight provided by the IGIS. Since 14 December 2005, the ombudsman and the IGIS have had a memorandum of understanding which guides the approaches of these offices to oversight of these intelligence agencies. As I say, the government is committed to implementing the recommendation from the comprehensive review which did recommend those agencies should be excluded from the ombudsman's jurisdiction.

Lest Senator Shoebridge or other senators have concerns about oversight as a result of these changes, it is worth noting that the ombudsman applies a lower standard of oversight than IGIS, or less oversight than IGIS. IGIS assesses for the legality and propriety and compliance with human rights whereas the ombudsman assesses for whether a decision or action was reasonable. So we feel confident that, by retaining the oversight of the IGIS, it provides the safeguard that Senator Shoebridge is seeking.